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Break and Back

I’m back after a break from my normal life. A week away from writing too, as it happens. I thought surely I could squeeze in a little writing and painting here and there. I worried that a break from my new routine might be painful and possibly dangerous.

What if I became lazy and disillusioned, or lost interest in my book?

As it turns out, I didn’t have time to miss writing!
And I didn’t end up despising my book.

My family spent almost a week at Kid’s Camp, and my main role was assistant activity leader. No internet or computer. Falling into my dormitory bunk at night exhausted. Up at dawn to help cook breakfast. Barely enough time to send a text message. Any breaks were dedicated to having a shower or nap (not a tranquil nap, more a collapse-amidst-the-chaos kind of nap).

It was fun working with friends and being surrounded by happy (boisterous) children. New sights and sounds and things to talk about. Most meals (delicious and healthy) cooked for me! And I am relieved to report that none of my fears about the demise of my writing dreams materialised. By the time I got home and had a shower and a nap, I felt excited, confident and ready to press on. Whew!

Back in the saddle …

I finished my first, handwritten draft of ‘Writer’s Apprenticeship’ before packing for camp, so that was the first goal achieved. Yay! Now it’s time to type it into Scrivener and start polishing: editing, adding links, quotes and anecdotes, checking references and so on. I am still planning to have it ready for sale on Kindle by 1st November this year.

A new spark …

Coming home, I also started to feel a glimmer of enthusiasm for NaNoWriMo 2016, which I had (quite decisively) planned to skip. Fiction-writing and I have had an on-again, off-again relationship, and I had intended to stick with simply writing and publishing my non-fiction book.

I started to play with new ideas, and let my pen do the talking, and before I knew it a new story had been born! I am journaling the prewriting phase (aka NaNoPrepMo) on InkyWings Facebook. I have no idea what to call this story for now, but the temporary working title is ‘BeWILDering’.

Onwards …

After my week away from writing I have a fresh perspective and a new appreciation for the creative time my lifestyle allows. The learning curve I’m on is steep but exhilarating. October will be spent preparing one book for publication, planning a new novel, and playing with pencils, paint and pastels to bring some visual ideas to life.